A Sheriff in Britannia
by Alsodef
Summary: After being stuck in the void for what appeared a few moments, thousands of years pass in the world that Caitlyn knew. With everything she once knew destroyed, she goes to another world. A world that is not devoid of destruction and war on its own. How will the rebellion unfold when a sheriff joins the fight? CG-universe, Rated M for current and future chapters.
1. Disconnected

Prologue - Disconnected

* * *

"An ally has been slain." The familiar female voice of the announcer said in a sinister tone.

"Enemy Triple Kill."

"Enemy Quadra Kill"

The buzzing of her teammates and her summoner in Caitlyn`s head was growing insane.  
"Don`t give her the penta!"

"Dirty Riven picker."

"Force is meaningless without fedora"

And the summoner of the enemy Riven: "GIVE PENTA! GIVE PENTA!"

The enemy Riven was on her tail as Caitlyn was running back to base as quick as she could. Using her leaps, her chaser was closing the distance fast. Turning around to face her, Caitlyn fired her rifle once before pulling a small lever, switching to the 90.-caliber net. It`s weight was so heavy that firing it knocked her back several meters. Used to this movement, she turned around while in the air and was able to somersault upon impact with the ground, running on immediately. Behind her, she heard a laugh and a few whispered words. "The time for talk is over, Caitlyn."

It was the last thing she heard before Riven lashed out her blade and Caitlyn was knocked down from behind by several projectiles of bundled wind. And when her last shivers of 'health' faded away, so did her consciousness. The world turned to black, and Caitlyn waited for her respawn.

"Pentakill. Ace"

* * *

When Caitlyn opened her eyes again, she was expecting to see Riven take down one or two inhibitors. Instead, the world in front of her eyes was purple, and a beautiful shade of purple at that. It looked somewhat like the trails that Kassadin would leave behind when he was using his Riftwalk. However, this was not normal. Normally, when one died at the Fields of Justice, they would follow the match from above. Because of this simple fact, Caitlyn found it easy to deduct the fact that something was wrong. The question now would be: 'How wrong?'

After being in the purple world for what felt like several hours, Caitlyn got worried. This wasn't a small error, nor was it something that appeared to be fixed within the next few minutes. She needed a plan of action. Something to get her out, or at least keep her busy.

"Okay," Caitlyn said to herself. "The main problem is that everything looks the same, and there is no visible exit in sight. This place is definitely something like the Void that Malzahar told me about a few days back. Gáh, this is not getting me anywhere. I am stuck here until they send someone to help me, or until I die. Would it be possible to die in the void? No, I must keep my thoughts together. I talked about being stuck in the void with Kassadin, but what did he say? Something about willpower, or magic. Well, magic isn't really an option for me, so I`ll have to take a gamble and go with willpower. Let`s see, how does willpower even work? Would it just be like 'I wanna get out of here' and everything will be reverted? Ugh, where are the void-creatures when you need them? Kha'zix is always bugging me in Valoran, but when you finally need him they are nowhere to be found..."

"You hailed?" A familiar voice hissed, causing Caitlyn to spin around on her heeled boots.

"Kha'zix, it`s good to see you, how did you get here?" The sheriff asked. She was one of the few that could hold herself around Kha'zix and the other void-beings. This was probably due to her being a really young addition to the league. With her being only fourteen, she figured that she was more open to beings from other worlds, even when they were in their world with the goal to capture and destroy it.

"As I said, you hailed. I came as soon as you called my name. So, how is the Void treating you? Are you done with admiring its beauty already?"

Caitlyn smiled as she replied, happy to have someone but herself to talk to: "Well, it's not like that. I would just like to go home. I`m sure that everyone at home is worried about me."

Kha'zix`s expression appeared to change as he readied himself for the harsh answer. "Purple girl, you must understand that time flows different in the Void. Your disappearance was over a thousand years ago, there is none that remembers you at home. The inevitable invasion of the Void has already flooded the world that you know, Runeterra and Valoran are no longer a place where one could live. Returning there is not an option, since there is nothing to return to."

Caitlyn was knocked back stunned by these words. And while her head was working through the information, she just started crying as she fell on her knees.

* * *

The Void Reaver was at a loss, and didn't know how to act. After crying for several Void-hours, Caitlyn had passed out. Choosing that that had been for the best, Kha'zix had let her sleep. In the meantime, he was debating with himself what he would have to do with the girl. He remembered her from his days in the League. She had been a petite young girl when she had joined the league. Her parents had died, leaving her with nothing but a rifle and the knowledge about police-work. She had been spotted and picked up by Malzahar, as he was spending the day in the City of Progress. Taking the girl with him, but not knowing what a prophet of the Void could do for a kid, he placed her in the League, where she had stayed for one year before the events of her disappearance. She was one of the only humans that would talk to the Void-beings, and she was someone that all the voidlings in the league cared for.

Knowing that she could not return to Valoran, Kha'zix knew that he had to find another place for her to live. And he had to be swift, preferably find it before she would wake up. The voidling switched into a stasis, something that could best be explained as an 'oversight-mode'. Going through all kinds of universums, Kha'zix found very few fit for the sheriff. Until…

"Yes…" Kha'zix clicked, "This place might work."  
He turned around to the still sleeping Caitlyn. With his claw he made a small cut in her right arm. When a few drops of blood welled up, the being from the Void closed his eyes and whispered a few final words. "Good luck, Child of the Void, we will meet you again."

* * *

Her head felt like she had been hit by a truck, and the light hurt her eyes. Slowly, her thoughts pierced through the pain. Light… No purple nothingness, but sunrays. She was no longer in the Void. But if she wasn't in the Void, then where was she? As she rose up slowly, she let her eyes slide over her surroundings. There were mountains, trees and sand, a lot of sand... But the most notable place of interest nearby was the huge building to her right. It was big enough to house the entirety of Piltover three or four times, she guessed. After sitting on the ground for a few more minutes, Caitlyn shrugged, picked up her rifle and moved in the direction of the building. She had to find out where she was, and how she could stay alive in this strange world.

As she got near the edges of one of the suburbs, Caitlyn noticed that they were guarded by metal machines, piloted by men. They looked like an upgraded version of Rumble`s machine, but more terrifying. On its legs was the name of the model: RPI-11 Glasgow.  
The speaker that was apparently part of the machine spoke to her: "Welcome to Pendragon, may I see your papers please?"

* * *

 **A new story, hopefully not the death of my other ones, but I do find myself motivated to write parts of this story more often. And I did already. I have 3 chapters ready, and a fourth one planned out. I am not really sure when I'll update the next chapter, and what kind of schedule I will work with.  
There are two writers that help me poke holes in my stories, one of which you ought to know if you come here from the League side: WingsOfRequiem (my former co-author at ANR), the other one is a must-know if you get here from Code Geass' side, and most of you probably already know him from his Ice & Fire fanfic, if you don't search for AlSmash and read his stuff. I highly recommend checking both of them out if you do not know them already, since they are way above my level, and should be able to satisfy your need for great stories. Both of them can be found at my Fav'Author-tab. **

**Now, regarding my other stories:**

 **-Wish of an Angel (No Game No Life) - I have the third chapter planned out, and it is going to be quite nice. I'm really happy to see that this story is rising to the top rather quickly, even when it does not even contain Lemons (yet...). I plan on working on this story when I have my fourth chapter on paper/docs.**

 **-** **Power of the Sun - Is kinda shoved backwards, multiple times. I am writing two chapters at once, and neither is making that much progress. I need to put some time into planning the story itself more carefully before I continue writing, since I'm now going from chapter to chapter without a good plan in mind.**

 **-Explosive Hexplosives - As stated in the story itself, this will be facing a heavy rework, and once more: lots of planning.**

 **-A New Reality - The same thing goes for this as for most of my chapters: requires a lot of extra planning. I have been sitting on 2K words for over 3 months now, and it is getting ridiculous. Updates are coming, the story is not abandoned, but it will take some time :)/:(**

 **-Radio Piltover - Might be seeing some cross-story chapters, as suggested to me by a reviewer. Examples would be: The disappearance of Braum, Fiora, Talon, Kha'zix and Quinn. Or the disappearance of the host herself... I`ll figure that out later.**

 **I think this is all for now. As always, add the story to your fav's if you think it is worth it, follow it and/or me for updates and send me a PM or review if you have any feedback.**

 **-Alsodef**


	2. Thugs, Watches and Rifles

**It looks like not many people have found this story as of yet. I guess I am kinda spoiled by the original launch of A New Reality, which was accompanied by a shoutout from WingsOfRequiem. So, while in comparison it's stats are not that great yet, it might actually be doing okay for a normal crossover. As I said in my previous Author Note, I already had this chapter done and was planning to post it soon. This chapter takes a slight turn, and things turn a bit more into the bad side of living in a ghetto. However, it will also mark the start of the story, since... Well, you'll have to read that yourself, I guess. I hope you enjoy.**

* * *

Chapter 1 - Thugs, Watches and Rifles.

 _July 23th, 2009 a.t.b._

 _Plains of Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire_

There is nothing that is as degrading as stealing because of hunger. That goes double if the thief is or was a sheriff. Even when it was in a former life, and in a different world, it takes quite a lot of time for a policeman (or woman) to start stealing. When they do however, they make for excellent thieves. Knowing exactly how to behave, act and hide the catch. Caitlyn didn`t like the fact that she was forced to steal, and even when it was the second time in her life, it was still hard on her psyche.  
She tried to lift her soul by sharing food with others, as if that made the stealing itself less bad. It didn't, and she knew that really well.

When she had just turned thirteen, her parents had died in action. Killed by an armed rogue that was robbing a store. They did not have to intervene when they did, but they were desperate to catch the criminal in action. And action they got… In the firefight, four cops died. Two of them were Caitlyn`s parents. They were honored post-mortem, promoted a few ranks, and then forgotten about. As was their young daughter, who was left alone. Without any money to pay her bills with, or any knowledge on how to earn said money, it didn't take long before people came to her house to empty it, piece by piece, couch after couch, television after hextech. At the end, all that she had left were her own clothes, her mother`s hat and her father`s rifle. With that, she had fled her house, onto the streets. Living there had been equally hard at first, and worse at some occasions. However, there was still humanity left in the ones ruling the city. Here, in the Britannian Empire, everything seemed devoid of that humanity.  
People killed for food, they robbed for money, they offered their bodies for a place to stay the night and a warm meal. And there were enough rich bastards around that took advantage of them. Caitlyn had not been on the streets for very long, and adapting to it had been relatively easy, but she knew that it wouldn't take long before she had no other choice but to offer dirty men access to her private parts as well. Already she noticed them staring at her, making comments or moving to touch. As said, she was able to keep them off for now, as she did not need it. But they knew as well, they were aware that she was running low on other options. And they would jump on the opportunity the moment she had no other choice.

As the young girl was walking through a cramped street in the big slum, she was almost ran over by a man of twice her age. In a flash, she noticed a swift sparkling of gold against his chest, covered by his right hand. Studying the man`s back with a bit more interest now, she noticed the tattoo that ran down from his ear to his right arm. It was a burning bird, carefully curved into the man`s physique. The man turned around a corner before Caitlyn could observe anything else, and her attention was drawn by a swift in the crowd. Everyone was suddenly moving, away from a source in the back. As the crowd thinned enough, Caitlyn could see the uniforms of the soldiers that she had learned to fear in the past few days; Britannian Noble Guards. They were often spoiled, triggerhappy and racist bastard that committed more crimes than that they prevented. This time they were accompanying two men, with one of them looking like he was around her age.

The older man of the two was the one of whom the thief had stolen the golden watch. That was easily deducible if you looked at his wrist, which had a white stripe over it. A place where the sun would not touch his arm, the most logical option would be that he has -or in this case, had- a watch. Both of the men were part of the nobility, the way they dressed, looked, walked and were guarded all pointed to that.  
Studying them some more, Caitlyn came to the conclusion that they were father and son. The boy had almost golden hair, and while the man`s hair was mostly grey already, his moustache still showed some signs of the same blonde shade. The next part that proved a bound of blood between the two were their eyes. Eyes were always special, in the way that they would betray any bond between people. It was very rare for anyone but family to have similar eyes. So, father and son, next question: 'Who are they?'

Moving her gaze over the soldiers and the two noblemen she searched for a coat of arms of some sort. They had one; a two-headed falcon, in the same form as the lilies that also adored one of Fiora`s outfits. All the soldiers wore this insignia, and the two noblemen had embroidered on their coats and above their hearth. Caitlyn did not recognise it, but was this time helped out by the murmuring in the crowd that was looking. "Lord Weinberg... " "His son was named Gino, wasn't he?" "What would bring a Weinberg here?" "I heard he fought in Area three as a commander…" "He can get us out of here… Maybe we should ask him for his help? He can make us papers to get into the city…"  
Caitlyn perked her ears at this. After several weeks, she could finally get out of these slums, or at least she had a chance. If only she could find a way to these Weinberg's.  
This time, it was the recklessness of the youngest son that proved her with an opportunity. Apparently enraged that the thief was getting away, he shoved one of the soldiers aside and, in spite of his father`s protests, ran off into the ghetto. He followed the direction that the thief had picked but Caitlyn knew that the thief had fled into one of the more dangerous parts of the ghetto, and that was also the direction where Gino was heading.

...

"What do we have here? A noble kid, alone in the ghetto? Where is your daddy, boy? Not here? Oh, that`s a pity indeed… But don't fear, you can come with us. We will keep you safe, relatively at least…"

Gino was cursing his own stupidity. What was he expecting? That people in this ghetto would be impressed by his insignia? That they would aid him is his search for the thief? He had planned to find the thief and impress his father, but he would end up shaming him instead. If he would survive this at all, that was. There were seven of them, surrounding him. All of them had a tattoo on their body, a sign of a burning bird. They were probably some sort of clan, and they held him hostage. Their skin was tanned slightly, making Area 3 or 6 a logical place where either they themselves or their parents came from. He was being dragged into a house, and the last thing he noticed before the door was closed was a flash of purple and brown.

...

They had taken the Weinberg boy inside, which greatly complicated Caitlyn`s plan of rescuing him. She had originally planned to take them out in quick succession, using the rifle that she had picked up from her hiding place. However, when they were inside, she would not be able to take them down that easy. Not without compromising herself. However, Caitlyn thought, she was already putting herself in danger with every day that she spend in the ghetto. With a sigh, she left the torn hat on the rooftop that she was sitting on, since that would only hinder her movements inside a building. After this she descended to the street and moved closer to the building that housed the rogues.

Standing across the street that passed the building, Caitlyn looked up and reviewed the plan by herself. "Now, let`s see. They will likely hold him in one of the rooms on the back of the house, probably on the first floor as well. Best route of approach would be for me to enter through the window on the second floor, and find a spot from where I can take all out one by one. I would have to install my silencer for this operation. Since it is in a house, that would not really hurt my accuracy, and I would not need my sniping skills. The house is old, so climbing it should not be that hard when compared to the buildings back in Piltover." Caitlyn stopped talking for a few seconds when one of the rogues left the house, running but not fleeing. "Okay, he is probably going to fetch the father of the boy, and ask for ransom. If I want to make an impression on the Weinbergs, I would best be done before he returns. But, I should not get ahead of myself. Caitlyn moving into action, over and out."

Gino was dropped in a chair, got a piece of cloth over his eyes and another one between his teeth, preventing him to both see and speak. His hearing however, was still fine, as he was constantly reminded of by three of his kidnappers as they were making comments about either his weakness or his lineage. Due to the gag, he wasn't even able to reply and defend his own honor. Gino had nothing to do but wait, so he waited. He waited, even though he did not know what he was waiting for.

Caitlyn dropped down silently from the window frame. There were no hostiles on the second floor, so Caitlyn had some time to think through the next steps of approach. She would guess that there were at least seven rogues left in the building. Two or three at the first floor to guard and tease the target, four guarding the door and one away to fetch Lord Weinberg. She smiled as she noticed that she was thinking in military code for handling a kidnapping. She moved to the stairs and looked down.  
There were indeed three men near the boy, and none of them was paying attention to the stairs that led to the attic. Crouching, she moved down a few steps before she had a clean shot at all three of them. Carefully finding an angle that her bullets would not hit the boy, Caitlyn took a deep breath, moved her eye to the scope of her rifle, moved the crosshair to an ugly looking head and breathed out. A bullet left the barrel and painted the wooden wall with a dark, red shade.

Immediately after the first shot, she breathed in again, moved her aim and killed the next enemy before he could draw a weapon. The third one managed to shout a curse, but was swiftly deceased as well. With three steps at once, Caitlyn jumped off the stairway. As soon as her feet left the stairs that led to the attic she dropped on her front and aimed at the stairs that went to the ground floor. After waiting for two long minutes, there was still nobody coming up. To her surprise, the boy had kept his mouth shut the entire time. Normally, a hostage would cry for help and begged to be released as soon as possible. Her dad had told her of the times that this had greatly endangered an operation. This Weinberg-boy however, held himself really well, and Caitlyn suspected that he had either been kidnapped before or had some military training. She decided to reward him by cutting him loose. Still aiming at the stairs, she moved over to the boy in the chair and tore off his blindfold.

He had heard the hissing of bullets coming out of a silenced gun before, but he had never heard a silencer work that good. It was if someone was sniping from a large distance, but that would not be possible inside a house. He heard body parts smashing against the wall left of him, making it clear that the shooter was on his right. One of the men shouted a curse, but was cut off halfway through the words.

Gino had been drilled by his dad to prepare him for situations as kidnapping. His father had been part of the military police for over twenty years.  
" _Gino, if you ever find yourself kidnapped, and people are moving in to rescue you, you keep your mouth shut while they do so. I know how difficult that would be, especially for a talkative kid as you, but you can endanger everyone when you even as much as thank them for the rescue before said rescue is fully completed. They need to keep their full focus, and maybe they are even extracting in secret. If you make as much of a sound in that case, you can alert the enemy of your presence. So promise me Gino, that should the occasion ever arise and you need to be rescued from a kidnapping; You. Keep. Your. Mouth. Shut."_

Right now, Gino was thankful for that lesson and had kept his mouth shut for the past few minutes as he heard his rescuer move over to his chair in small steps, probably still aiming at the stairway, as he had for a few minutes already. He felt a hand against his forehead, next to his blindfold. With a swift move it was taken of his head and Gino could finally see the man that was risking his life to-  
Gino was stunned to discover that the man that had come to his rescue was not a man at all. Instead, _she_ was a girl of around his age, wearing somewhat torn clothes and a rifle that was almost as big as herself.

"Stay quiet, and watch the stairway while I undo your bindings. Ah wait, they gagged you, that explains why a boy like you would stay quiet when put through this. Can I remove it without you starting to shout? It would endanger everything, you know…"  
Gino rolled his eyes while nodding, already watching the stairway.

As soon as she had freed the boy she took aim at the stairway again. The boy caressed his wrists and bowed down to one of the dead rogues. He noticed all three of them were shot through the head, not even able to pick up their weapons. He decided to do that for them instead. On the floor were their outdated assault rifles, he picked two of them up and offered the third to Caitlyn. She smiled and shook her head. "My rifle will function just as well in close combat, don`t worry. Do you have military experience? In other words, can you handle the guns that you just picked up?"

Gino nodded and whispered: "I used to train with these guns when I was eight years old, although this generation of rifles is at least two generations behind on the ones we use at home or at the frontier. Name`s Gino by the way, Gino Weinberg, thanks for rescuing me, uhm…"

The girl in front of him smiled and replied: "Caitlyn, Caitlyn Vaelde, and it is my pleasure, though you are not really rescued just yet… I expect your father to arrive here within ten minutes, and I would like to have you safe and well before then. So, boys first?"

"Well I don't think that the 'ladies first' rule that my mother used to hammered on doesn't apply when it comes to diving into four triggerhappy enemies. So, sure. I'll lead the way."

"And in this case you`re the one who is carrying not just one, but two assault weapons. With my rifle, I can easily take them out one by one, but since you look like you want some action, I can allow you to go in first."

"Gladly. I'll talk to you after the battle. See you soon, M'lady." After this Gino reloaded his rifles and stormed down, Caitlyn walked after him casually, for some reason trusting Gino to take care of all of them with ease.

...

"I swear to you, if you bastards have hurt my son, I will tear this entire ghetto apart, and I will start by you, bastard. I will make sure you die slow and with large amounts of heavy pain." Lord Weinberg raged to the thug that was walking in front of him and one of his soldiers. The rogue wore a heavy smile, for he knew that he was holding all the cards. After this day, he would be extremely rich, and there would be no trace left of any of the two Weinbergs. They were approaching the hideout, and the kidnapper called out: "Hey boys, open up! We have some visitors!"

The door opened slowly, and Lord Weinberg`s eyes were almost piercing through the opening. Out came a girl, clad in purple and carrying a heavy rifle in her arms. The look of the rogue changed from a smug look into a look full of surprise. As the door was fully opened and the girl moved to the side, Lord Weinberg saw a familiar blonde head.

"Hy dad, how was your day?" His son said, smiling casually.

The old militair`s head worked fast, faster than the thug`s brain at least. With a fast move, he pulled out his ceremonial gun, cocked it and rose it to level the head of the bastard that had dared to kidnap his son and insult him multiple times. Before said man could catch up with the events, the trigger was pulled and the thug dead. He did not even realise that he had to be happy that Lord Weinberg was forgetting about his earlier promises and had granted him a swift death instead. After this the nobleman glanced a look at the girl, and her weapon, decided that Gino appeared to trust her and that he could give her the advantage of doubt. After this decision he moved in and pulled his son into an embrace.

"Are you hurt? Did they mistreat you? Are you sure you are alright? Do you have any idea what you mother would say about this? How did you get out?" Lord Weinberg was rambling through all the questions, not giving the boy that he was still hugging a chance to reply. He slowed down after the next question though, and at the same time his gaze moved away from his heir: "Who is this girl?"

Gino stepped out of the embrace and pointed to the girl with the rifle.

"Dad, this is Caitlyn Vaelde, the girl who rescued me and who has frightening skills with her rifle... If not for her, I would still be tied in a chair, blindfolded and gagged and giving them all the tools they would need to kidnap you as well. She has told me that she was originally tracking the thief who stole your watch, but ended up seeing me getting captured and moved in to rescue me. As I said, her skills are frightening…" Gino finished, and Caitlyn stepped forward to offer her hand.

Instead of shaking it, Lord Weinberg surprised her by taking it and bowing down to give her a handkiss. "I thank you girl, for rescuing Gino, and by extend me. Either from these thugs or from his mother, who would surely give me a headful if they would hurt Gino. I ask you, what do you want in return?"

Caitlyn`s eyes brightened as she replied: "Well, sir. First I would like to start by returning your watch, which was my original goal. It is in the pockets of the man who fetched you, his right one, I`d assume, considering the fact that he was right-handed. As for what I want in return… I want to get out of this ghetto, Sir Weinberg. I want to get into Pendragon, but I lack the papers or the money to do so. So…"

Gino cut her off before she could officially state her question. "That shouldn't be a problem, should it dad? Even I can get her rights to get into the city, since I am your heir."

"That`s true, but that would be around the equivalent of what the reward that you would receive if you had found back my watch, which apparently you did as well." He said at the moment that the soldier handed the golden watch over to him, after taking it from the thief`s pockets. He placed it back on his wrist and checked if it was still working.

Eyes still on the watch, he continued: "However, not only did you do that, you also rescued my only son. Only giving you access into the city would be a spat on my honor. So, I will officially invite you to Weinberg Manor, so that you can get used to the city and have a place to stay. It would also give you time to think about what you want in return of rescuing my son, and it would give me the opportunity to study your rifle, which has a most extraordinary design. Can I offer you at least that?"

Caitlyn smiled at the lord, and nodded.

"Wonderful, that will give me time to personally repay you as well, Cait." Gino said, smiling broadly at her before tugging her with him as he turned around and walked in the direction of the large gates.

* * *

 **Well, that's it. Caitlyn's getting into Pendragon, where she will stay for at least the next couple of chapters.  
Please, drop a review and tell me what you think of the story so far, and/or send me a Private Message. I'll answer both at the earliest convenience.  
All Hail Piltover,  
** **Alsodef**


	3. Heaven, Four Times

Chapter 2 - Heaven

 _July 23th, 2009 a.t.b._

 _Southern gate of Pendragon, Holy Britannian Empire_

"Welcome back, Lord Weinberg. Can I please see your papers?" A man next to one of the metal machines asked. Over the weeks she had spend in the ghetto, Caitlyn had learned that they were called Knightmares, and that they were slowly becoming the spearpoint of the Britannian Army. They looked terrifying, bearing big guns and large wheels.  
Lord Weinberg handed his papers over and pointed to the two teenagers behind him. "Of course you can. My son is bringing a guest with him, he will take care of her papers."  
"Splendid, milord. Step forward, you two. Let me see…" The man flipped through a few papers, picked three sheets and handed them over to Gino, who in turn handed one of them over to Caitlyn.

 _Name:_

 _Date of Birth (a.t.b.):_

 _Name Father:_

 _Name Mother:_

 _Place of Birth:_

 _Patron:_

 _Reason of Stay:_

 _Date:_

 _Autograph:_

Caitlyn felt her heart grow heavy. The people here knew nothing about Runeterra, so she would have to think up another birthplace. Step by step, she started to pen down her personal data.

Name: Caitlyn Vaelde

Date of Birth (a.t.b.): August 28th 1997

At the next two points Caitlyn`s expression went sad.  
Name Father: Feorlas Vaelde  
Name Mother: Mardeas Vaelde

Place of Birth: -

Caitlyn hesitated, and Gino moved over to her. "Just fill in my name, since I`ll be the one that takes you with me into the city. As for your place of birth… Why can`t you write that down? Is it because you`re from the Union? I had already guessed as much, but we`re currently at peace with the Europeans, so it wouldn't really harm you to fill that in."

Caitlyn smiled and wrote down both of Gino`s suggestions. She would tell him the truth later. Moving on to the next point she wrote down her reason of stay, which was the simple fact that she was invited to do so.

Date: July 23th, 2009 a.t.b.

After putting down her autograph, Caitlyn handed her paper to Gino, who handed all the documents to the guard. After a swift glance, he nodded and pointed to the gates. "On you go, have a nice stay milady."

Pendragon looked beautiful. Where the ghettos were all ugly and filthy, Pendragon was shining in every sense of the word. It was the capital of the world, and it looked as such. Caitlyn had her mouth open and her eyes were sparkling. Next to her Gino laughed. "Impressive, isn't it? I bet they don`t have this in the Union."  
She smiled back, shook her head while laughing and followed lord Weinberg.

* * *

As he was following Caitlyn, and by extend his father, Gino couldn't help but notice the fact that the girl in front of him looked more than nice. The way she was walking, the way her hair flew down around her shoulders as she walked, the way she was carrying her rifle, the fact that she was a girl of his age that was carrying a rifle, the fact that she had rescued him. He was only thirteen now, and smart enough to know that he was not yet suited to chase after a girl. Yet, Gino`s mind was wandering off to the future. Maybe two years, maybe four… However, he also knew that Caitlyn Vaelde was a commoner, even lower, by some standards. She came from the Union, apparently, and he had yet to ask her about her past, and how she ended up being here all alone. Suddenly, the sheriff stopped at a store that sold hats.

"Lord Weinberg!" She exclaimed. "Would you mind if I take a look in here before we go on? I need to buy a new hat…"

The nobleman gave her a wondering look. "A hat, girl? Well, of course I would not mind it, but why would you need a hat?"

"Well, you see sir, I always wear one. Preferably a purple and brown colored leather high-hat. I had to leave my old one behind when I rescued Gino, and I would like to buy a new one…"

"Uhm, sure. Do you have enough money for buying at _Dash and Donger Handsome Hats_ though? Or do I need to send Gino in with you?"

* * *

And so Caitlyn found herself in heaven. A world made up of hats, hats and more hats. Black, purple, yellow, orange, lilac, green, long, small, high, strange, all different kinds of hats were available in the store. As soon as Lord Weinberg had told her to go in, and that she basically had a full budget, Caitlyn went into girl-mode really fast. Rushing into the store, she almost knocked the owner over in her search for a new hat. Gino, who entered a few seconds later, just smiled and started a conversation with the owner, who was looking at Caitlyn with a weird but appreciating look. To the shopkeeper, this girl looked like someone who would truly understand the art of his job, in other words; a returning customer.

After almost an hour of trying on hats, taking notes and readjusting, Gino Weinberg understood the curse of shopping with a girl. Although he did now understand why a hat would suit her (she looked even prettier wearing one), he did not understand her fascination with the color purple or why she could not just be happy with the first hat that she had tried on. The shopkeeper however, appeared to do. And so it was that the only one that Gino was able to talk to had now left him to stand with Caitlyn in her quest to find a perfect hat. He heard them rambling on and on about all kind of fabrics, the pre's and con's of using them and what color would fit her best. The moment that Gino discovered that they were not talking about what color, but about exactly what shade of purple they should use, the boy lost it. He walked up to the two and scraped his throat, claiming their attention.  
"Caitlyn, are you done yet? We have been in here for over two hours, surely you have succeeded in picking a nice hat by now?"

Caitlyn laughed and pointed at several boxes next to her. "Done? But Gino, I only picked seven hats yet…"

"Wh- What? Seven? What is wrong with just one?"

Both the shopkeeper and Caitlyn glared at him, deemed him unworthy of an answer and continued their conversation. Gino walked back to his spot.

* * *

With three piles of boxes in his arms, containing a stunning amount of fourteen different hats, Gino walked next to Caitlyn towards Weinberg Manor. He had stopped asking the girl why she would need so many hats, accepted it for a fact that girls were weird and didn't even protest when Caitlyn had sort of expected him to carry everything.

"Left or right?"

"Left," Gino replied. "We`re almost there. By the way, where is your rifle?"

"It is on my back." Caitlyn replied while crossing the street to go to the left. "Don`t stare at me like that, I can sort of fold it together. You honestly don`t expect me to walk around with a rifle that is about my size all the time, do you?"

Gino shook his head, refusing to be surprised by the new revelations of the girl. Here was not the place to talk, so he had decided to wait with asking the questions that were burning on his tongue already. At least until they were inside Weinberg Manor.

"Welcome, young master." The guard at the gate greeted. "I take it that this is your guest?"

"Yes Thomas, her name's Caitlyn. She will be staying here for the next few weeks." The 'young master' replied, sulking at the title.

"Hello Thomas, pleased to meet you." Caitlyn said, stepping forward with a smile.

"Likewise, milady. We are at your service." The guard replied before they moved through the outer gates.

Gino handed the boxes over to a servant and told him to bring them into the house. Looking at his guest he saw her studying the manor as they walked closer.

"You will find that every manor is a palace on itself. There are a lot of manors in Pendragon, since every self-respecting noble family has at least one. And of course there are the royal palaces as well. That`s where the consortes live."

"It looks amazing. Back at… home I used to live in a small house. But we still had it good, compared to the many people that were cramped up in skyscrapers or one-room apartments. Anyway, lead the way Gino, I can`t wait to see your house."

"Well in that case follow me, lady Vaelde."

* * *

From the inside, the house looked even bigger. The only place that Caitlyn could remember that looked like this were the Demacian Royal Quarters, and they housed a king and his guard. With an amazed expression constantly apparent on her face she followed Gino. From the large entrance and hallway they went into a room that apparently served as the living room, seeing that there were several televisions, lazy couches, chairs and tabloids spread across the room. In one of the chairs was Gino`s father, reading a newspaper and looking exactly as Caitlyn would imagine a man of his age and status to look like. All that lacked was a handcarved wooden pipe. A woman was walking around the room, preparing tea and scones. Caitlyn took a deep breath and smiled of happiness at the foresight of fresh tea and homemade scones. The woman did not look like a servant, and Caitlyn`s guess would be that this was Lady Weinberg. Before she was done taking in the view completely, Gino had already announced their presence, causing the woman to turn around and the lord to lower his newspaper.

"Ah, Gino, you`re home already." His father said. "You have been lucky that your lady only took three hours…"

"Excuse me dad, lucky?! I spent three hours standing and waiting, how could you possibly call that lucky?" Gino said, not realising that his words might have been slightly rude towards Caitlyn.

"Exactly, only three hours. That would be the equivalent of a walk in the park for me on shopping days…"

The woman had by now walked up to lord Weinberg and with a spoon that she was using for the scones until just a moment ago, knocked him on the head. "Lorenzo, shut up, you`re talking nonsense now. Now son, be a real nobleman and introduce your guest to your mother."

"Ah yes. Mother, this is Lady Caitlyn Vaelde. Caitlyn, this is my mother, the lovely Margaret Weinberg. She makes the best cake in the entire Holy Britannian Empire, and as long as I keep saying that I can get my share of it."

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Weinberg."

"Please, inside the house it's just Margaret. And I`m pleased to meet you as well, Caitlyn Vaelde. Pleased to meet you, and eternally thankful for rescuing my son." She glared at Gino. "We`ll speak about that later by the way, young man."

Gino swallowed and glanced away from his mother`s piercing eyes.

"Now," Margaret Weinberg continued. "Onto more pressing matters: Tea and scones. I fear this isn't my famous cake, but for now it will have to do."

Caitlyn shook her head, smiling widely. "Lady Wein- Margaret, I have not had tea in over a month. Even if you would be serving old bread next to it I'd-"

"OVER A MONTH?!" Gino`s mother screamed, a horrid expression in her eyes. "My dear girl, it`s a miracle that you are still alive… Good lord, a month… Gino!"

"Yes mom?"

"Fetch another kettle, my porcelain one. Someone that has not had tea in over a month deserves nothing but the best for her next cuppa."

As Gino left, his mother practically dragged Caitlyn over to a chair and almost guided her into seating, as if she was mortally wounded instead of not drinking tea for a month.

* * *

After making sure that Caitlyn was sitting comfortably -and asking almost dozen times to make sure- Gino came back into the room, carrying a plate with a special set. With utmost care his mother took the kettle from him and placed it on a small firepit, apparently customized for a kettle. Gino, after being shooed away from the kitchen, took a seat in the chair next to Caitlyn.

"If you ever need something to distract my mother with, talk about tea. If you ever need a last-minute gift for my mother, buy some tea. If you ever need or want something from my mother, make sure to bring tea. It`s a method that both me and my dad have exploited on many occasions."

Caitlyn smiled and took a scone as it was offered to her by lord Lorenzo Weinberg.

A few minutes later Margaret Weinberg walked back to the coffeetable, placed down the kettle in front of Caitlyn and -very carefully- poured her a cup of tea. Caitlyn thanked her, blew over it a few times to cool it down a bit, waited a few more seconds and took her first sip of tea since she had left her apartment in the morning of the match on the Rift. And for the second time of the day, Caitlyn found herself in heaven.

After a total amount of three full kettles consumed and/or force-fed to Caitlyn, Lorenzo Weinberg told Gino to come with him to his office, leaving Margaret Weinberg and Caitlyn alone. As the older woman poured both of them another cup of tea, she folded her hands together on her lap and shamelessly studied Caitlyn.

"So, how long have you been living in the ghetto now, Caitlyn?"

"A month?" Caitlyn replied, not completely sure.

"Why can I hear a question mark in your reply?"

"Well… I`m not completely sure when I arrived at Pendragon, so that's why, I guess."

"Hmm, and how is it like? Living in the ghetto?"

"Hard, especially for a young girl on her own."

"You mean…" Margaret asked, hints of horror appearing in the depths of her eyes.

Caitlyn just nodded. "It did not get that far yet, and I`ve seen worse things in my life than rapings…"

"Worse? But girl, you`re only what? Thirteen? Fourteen?"

"The latter, and I should tell you that the ones that I killed to rescue Gino were not the first ones to fall to my rifle, and I did not get that good at shooting just because I liked firing a gun…"

The woman was slightly shaking, the tea almost being spilled out of its cup. "Yes, of course I know that the world is a place filled with horrors, and I do also realise that it might be out of place to say that as someone that did not even had to work for her own money… Anyway, let`s change the topic, shall we?"

Caitlyn inclined her head for only a moment to agree with the proposal, and the woman across of her was silently thinking of a good new topic to talk about.

"Let`s start safe again, do you have any clothes with you?" Caitlyn shook her head, and the woman nodded hers before grabbing a piece of paper and a pencil. "I see, well that will be the first thing we`ll do tomorrow then."

The talk went down into fashion and such. In the meantime Gino was having a more interesting conversation with his father.

* * *

"Gino, we received an official summon this morning. It was delivered by courier and the letter carried the royal sigil. In the letter it is stated that you have been admitted access to the Knightmare-Training as soon as you reach the age of fourteen."

"Really?! Oh, yes! That is amazing dad!"

"Yes, well I knew you wanted to be a Pilot, and I know that you`re gonna be a great pilot at that. However, Gino, as soon as your training starts you will be on your own. Inside the walls of the barracks, noble status means nothing, so using it as an excuse is out of the question. We will talk more about it in a few months, before you turn fourteen."

* * *

Gino still was very excited at the foresight of going into Knightmare training, but he did reply to the message that his father was trying to drop upon him. "Dad, earlier today my life has been saved by someone that is not even a commoner by britannian standards. Hell, I`m not even sure if she`s even telling the truth about where she is from… However, I did never hate foreigners at all, so why would you think that I would have a problem with commoners?"

His dad smiled approvingly at his oldest and only son, ruffled his hair and walked to the door, leaving Gino looking happily at the summon.

"Now," Caitlyn said as it was growing dark outside. "There is one more selfish request that I would like to ask this evening…"

Gino smiled, as did his mother, before they both replied that she should go ahead and ask.

"Well… I would love to finally be able to take a bath again, it was one of the things I missed most…"

"Ah, poor girl… I`ll have Sebastian fill the big tub for you right away."

'Heh,' Caitlyn thought as she heared the name that all self-respecting butlers seemed to have, 'it seems like some things do get across dimensions...'

A few minutes later she followed lady Margaret Weinberg up the stairs, on her way to her third and forelast heaven of the day. After stepping out of her clothes, who also needed a thorough cleaning, she walked to the tub and dipped her toe in first. Deciding that the temperature was perfect she let the rest of her body follow, exclaiming a heavy sigh as she let the soothing warmth of the water wash over her, literally. Closing her eyes, the girl`s mind drifted away.

* * *

She was roused back into the current time by someone knocking on her door. "Miss Vaelde, are you alright? You have been in here for almost an hour now."

"I`m fine Sebastian, thank you. I`ll be done here shortly."

"Very well, I`ll show you to your room as soon as you are ready."

Getting out of the bath, Caitlyn took a white towel from a big pile and dried herself. Wrapping a new towel across her body, and another one over her hair, she opened the door slightly, enough to stick her head around the corner.

"Sebastian, can I ask you something?"

"Of course you can, Miss Vaelde, I`m here to serve."

"In that case, can you get me any clothing for the night? I don't have anything of my own…"

"I`ve already readied that on your bed, miss. Do you want me to bring it to the bathroom?"

"Oh, great, and that shouldn't be necessary. You can show me to my room then, I guess." Caitlyn said, leaving the room in her towel-outfit.

Her room was just as marvelous as her bathroom. With a huge bed in the centre, a lot of curtains and also a lot of purple, Caitlyn could not imagine a better place to spend the night. On her bed were, indeed, the clothes that she could use for sleeping. Getting rid of the towels, she changed into these clothes and jumped on top of the bed, finding it to be the fourth heaven of this strange day, the day that things were finally looking up again for Caitlyn Vaelde.

* * *

 **A/N: Thanks for reading. S** **omehow people do manage to find this category, which is a great thing.**

 **This (as will be the case for the next few chapters) will be mostly filler-chapters, used to prepare the stage. Bear with me for now. ^-^**

 **Enough talking now, I'll head back to writing, or sleeping...**

 **-Alsodef (24/7/2015)**


	4. Royals, Sandwiches and Guns

Chapter 3 - Royals, Sandwiches and Rifles

As Caitlyn walked into the tearoom where they had talked yesterday, which apparently served as a living room as well, Lady Margaret Weinberg was already busy. Neither her husband or son were in the room, so they were probably still asleep. Caitlyn had always been someone that did not sleep that long into the next day. Although the sensation of finally waking up in a real bed again had tempted her to stay in for a bit longer, she had still arrived downstairs relatively early. As she walked to the kitchen that was next to the room, lady Weinberg noticed her and turned around.

"Goodmorning, miss Vaelde, I hope you slept well?"

Caitlyn smiled and nodded. "Ah, yes. I haven't slept like this in months, thank you. Are the lords Weinberg still asleep?"

"Gino is, as usual. My husband has went to the vi Brittania's to take care of some things regarding Gino`s enlistment earlier this morning, but he will be back to join us for lunch."

"Wait, Gino's going to enlist?" Caitlyn asked, wondering what someone of noble birth would want to do in a modern-day army.

"Hah, he's been dreaming of becoming a Knightmare pilot for a very long time now. So, when he turns fourteen, he'll be able to enlist for training. It's a bit young, but being a pilot is a good place for a nobleman, and with his ambition he'll make it to the Round if he is any good, and according to his dad, he is..."

There were many things that Caitlyn did not know about the world yet, but she couldn't risk to ask it when it might have been common knowledge. Not without telling them that she was from a completely different world first. While doubting about this, Margaret Weinberg walked over to the table and placed down a basket with bread.

"This is freshly baked, so if you hurry it might also be warm."

"Shouldn't we wait for Gino?" Caitlyn asked.

"Heh, he'll come down when we start our lunch and join us then. It would be really unusual for him to wake up before that." His mother smiled, and with a gesture of her arm, invited Caitlyn to sit down at the table.

…

"Papers please?" The guard at the large entrance gates asked.

As a reply, Lord Weinberg handed over his papers and identification. The guard apparently took his job quite serious and studied the documents thoroughly.

"All right sir, head on through."

"Thank you, please notify her Highness vi Britannia of my arrival."

"Already taken care of, milord. She is awaiting you in the central room."

After replying "Very well." to the guard, Lorenzo Weinberg moved through the gates.

As he entered Aries Villa, he heard the playful screaming of the youngest girl in the house as she ran off the stairs, hands in the air while being chased by a black-haired boy and pink-haired and clad girl. Rushing past him, ever laughing, Nunnally didn't even notice him, nor did her half-sister. The oldest kid of the three did, and Lelouch vi Britannia stopped for a few seconds to address Lorenzo.

"Hello Lorenzo, are you here to speak with my mother?"

"Hello to you as well, Lelouch. And I am, she is in the living room, I take it?"

"Yes, the central living. Now, if you`ll excuse me, I gotta chase after my sister before she reaches the end of the gardens first." And without waiting for a reply, Lelouch ran off after his relatives.

Smiling as he walked on, Lorenzo reached the central room. Given the time, it was no surprise that he smelled tea when he entered. On the table, a filled kettle and a lot of papers in front of her, was empress Marianne Vi Britannia, one of the many empresses and a good friend to the Weinberg family. She looked up as he entered the room, smiled and rose from her chair.

Going through the proper etiquette, Lorenzo Weinberg greeted Marianne, and sat down at the other side of the table.

"So, knightmare training?" Marianne started, smiling at her conversation partner.

"Yes," Lorenzo answered. "It has been his dream ever since he saw the showmatch between you and the Knight of One."

"Yeah, it did quite good as far as recruitment goes. But, I take it that you want me to become his patron?"

"Well, yes. He needs someone of royal blood to get him further than just a knightmare pilot. You know that he is quite talented, his simulation-scores showed that much, so I have no doubt that he will make it high up into the hierarchy, with royal support at least. And since house Weinberg is vowed to the Vi Britannia line, I thought it of common decency to ask you to be his patron."

"You don't need to convince me, Lorenzo. Even if his skills in a real frame are only a small part of his skills in the sim, he would do just fine there. I've already told you that I would support little Gino`s endeavors in the military. However, I am no longer part of the military. So, while I can support him in name, it would be best for him to bind to a student of mine. She is of royal blood as well, and I cannot imagine a better mentor and idol for Gino than her. I'm afraid that she is not here yet, but I'll take her with me when I take Lelouch and Nunnally to your estate for dinner. If that still stands, that is?"

Lord Weinberg looked surprised for a few seconds, before he remembered that he had invited them a few days ago. "Ah, yes. To be honest, I forgot about that. We had quite an event that occupied us yesterday…"

"I heard rumors of a kidnapping…"

"Yes, it was quite stressful, but it worked out for the better, surprisingly enough."

Marianne vi Britannia gve lord Weinberg a wondering look, waiting for him to continue.

"Well… I do not know how much you've heard."

"Nearly nothing, and I did not research it because I heard you all were alright."

"Yes, well it started with some thief stealing my watch, and Gino chasing after him."

Marianne shook her head. "As hotheaded as always…"

"Indeed. Well, Gino was kidnapped and held hostage for ransom. He was inside a house, and with one of the thugs came back to get me, there were six more guarding his room and house. This was the point where Lady Vaelde showed up."

Marianne rose her hand to interrupt Lorenzo. "Vaelde? I know no nobility of that name… Where is she from?"

"I am getting to that, don't worry. Now, this girl -she is only one year older than Gino- had apparently followed the thief, and by extent Gino, to reclaim my watch. After she witnessed the kidnapping, she was the only person in the entire ghetto that decided to take action. And by the emperor, she did…"

"How do you mean? What did she do for you to be so impressed?"

"Well, Gino was blindfolded, and I haven't asked her for the details yet, but apparently she snuck into the house from the attic, one floor above where Gino was held. From what I heard from Gino, she was able to snipe the three thugs that were guarding him in such speed that they could not even draw their guns. Now, I am not sure if you are aware, but even most of the snipers from the Imperial SF's are not that good at sniping from close range, let alone when they are without clear cover and fire at a speed that doesn't even let their enemies draw a weapon."

"That is quite remarkable indeed. Go on, I want to know the rest of the story."

"Hmm, when I arrived at the house where the rogues kept Gino hostage, Gino was the one to come out of the house, an outdated gun in his hands and this girl a few steps behind him. I executed the last thief then and there, thus concluded the kidnapping. After that I asked the girl what she wanted as a reward, and after returning my watch to me -which I had kinda forgotten about- asked for entrance into the city. Giving her only that would be a disgrace to my honor, so I offered her to stay at the Weinberg Manor for as long as she needed."

"Ah, so I will meet her as well, this evening?" Marianne inquired, a smile on her face.

"I think so, yes."

After this they talked about unimportant things, and half an hour later, Lorenzo Weinberg took his leave and returned home, intending to be home on time for lunch.

…

Caitlyn heard sounds coming from the room next to her, signalling the waking up of Gino Weinberg, heir and only son to lord Lorenzo Weinberg. A swift glance at the clock told her that it was past noon already. She, an early bird herself, wondered how anyone could sleep that long into the day. In her opinion it was extremely inefficient, since it left less time to do things.

Then again, a boy of noble heritage would not really have that much on his hands during a normal day. She wondered if Gino even went to school, or if he just had private teaching. She suspected that the last one was true, since there had be no sign of any schoolbooks or schoolstuff in his room. While she heard the shower pour in the bathroom, Caitlyn shifted in her chair and picked another book from the big pile. Certainly _The History of Britannia_ would prove somewhat useful in understanding the world that she was in right now. As she opened it on the first page and started reading _Chapter 1 - In the beginning,_ she knew that it was probably going to be dull and purely history-focussed. Then again, that was expected from a book that literally had the word history in its title. As she toughened herself into the book, she waited for Gino to finish his shower and to plan the day with him, what remained of it at least.

They were sitting outside as the large-sized car arrived back at the villa, holding Lord Weinberg, two younger kids that Caitlyn did not recognise and another young man that appeared to be a guard of the two. As all four of them exited the car, Gino and Margaret Weinberg rose to greet their guests. From the way they bowed however, Caitlyn could deduct that the two kids would have to be of high rank. The two did not seem to take any heed of the way they were greeted, instead rushed up to them. Where the girl hugged Lady Margaret, the raven haired boy rushed over to Gino to show him something. Caitlyn observed the the scene with what was apparently a startled look, as Lorenzo walked over to her and started introducing the two kids.

"These are Lelouch and Nunnally vi Britannia, son and daughter of empress Marianne vi Britannia. The Weinberg-family has sworn itself to the vi Britannia-line, and thus we know both the children and their mother very well. This," Lord Weinberg pointed to the man that had accompanied the kids, "is lord Jeremiah Gottwald, member of the empress' royal guard and appointed caretaker for both of her kids for this day, because he had the misfortune to be close to us when they expressed their will to tag along to the villa… Lord Gottwald, this is Miss Caitlyn Vaelde. We owe her a great deal for rescuing Gino, but I'm sure you've already read the reports about that."

The man shot Caitlyn a taxating look, nodded once and gave a one-word answer while his glance turned back to his subjects. "Charmed."

"So, a bodyguard that takes his job seriously. That's an unfamiliar sight… Pleased to meet you, lord Gottwald." As a grunt was all that she got as a reply, Caitlyn walked over to Gino and the boy, Lelouch. As she walked away, she could feel the bodyguard`s eyes burning on her back.

"Look Gino. Mother gave me a new toy. It's a miniature of the Ganymede. Look, it can do this." While Lelouch explicitly showed Gino in what stances his new "knightmare" could be put, Caitlyn walked closer. She thought Gino around three of four years older than Lelouch, making the prince around nine or ten years old. Of course, this meant that Gino would be of the perfect age to be idolized by Lelouch, which apparently was the case.

While she studied Lelouch and his younger sister, who was clinging to "Aunt Margaret" while talking about something that Caitlyn could not overhear, she noticed that both were unalike the image that she had of 'royalty'. She guessed that it was not really important to them yet, since they were more kids than royalty right now.

The moment Lelouch noticed her, he pulled his sister to his side and introduced both of them to Caitlyn.

"Hello, milady. My name is Lelouch vi Britannia, and this is my younger sister Nunnally. We're pleased to meet you." Nunnally extended a small hand to Caitlyn, which she shook. They were both raised well, which made Caitlyn wonder how their mother would be.

...

After she told the two kids her name they went inside, where lunch was served. It was nothing extraordinary, and with its sandwiches and drinks, looked like a great lunch. Caitlyn, who noticed that she was in fact quite hungry, dug into the served food, as did the rest.

"Né, Miss Caitlyn, were you the one that my mother spoke of today?"

"Uhm, I do not know that, Lelouch. I hope it was positive?"

"It was something about Gino being rescued by a girl who killed some thugs. Mother was quite impressed. Since you're here now, I took it that you were that girl. Is that right?" Lelouch's eyes were filled with expectation, while Jeremiah Gottwald shot her a different glance than before.

"Uhm, yeah… That was me." Caitlyn replied hesitantly, unsure how to handle a ten year old kid that was asking her if she had killed a couple of men.

"Cool…" Lelouch whispered to himself and Caitlyn could almost see the cogs working in his head, though she did not know why.

Lelouch was just one big ball of excitement. He was with Gino, and someone that was possibly even cooler than Gino, in one room. As usual, Lelouch did not stop asking questions.

"How old are you, miss Caitlyn? Can I see your weapon? Did you ever drive in a knightmare? What is the range of your gun? Where are you from? How-"

Gino chuckled. "Easy Lelouch. You won't get any answers from anyone if you do not give them time to reply. So, one question at a time."

Lelouch nodded thoughtfully, figuring out what question he would pick to ask first. His fascination for guns gained the overhand, and Lelouch asked if he could see her gun.

"Uhm, yeah sure. But don't you think that this Gottwald would flip if he saw me near you with a gun?"

Lelouch smiled and shook his head. "No, I think he trusts you enough. He was quite impressed by the story that my mother told him. He just act like this because… Well, because he acts like this."

Somewhat reassured, Caitlyn walked up the stairs to fetch the rifle from her room. It was next to her bedside, now retracted so that it was only a fourth of its normal length. She expanded it to its original length, and after taking the bullets out she leaned the rifle on her shoulder.

...

She looks amazing, Gino couldn't help but wonder as Caitlyn descended from the stairs. He had something for girls with guns, he decided. Lelouch, even while he was still only ten years old, was irritably sharp, and noticed the awed expression on Gino`s face. With a smug smile he nudged his elbow in Gino`s chest, who came to himself and noticed the smile of the young boy at the same moment. Lelouch turned his attention to the rifle, who was placed on the table by a slightly blushing Caitlyn. Lelouch extended a hand, remembered his manners just before he touched the gun and looked up at Caitlyn questioningly.

"Go ahead Lelouch. It's not activated at the moment, so it won't fire by accident or something."

Gino studied the gun and asked: "Activated? Why would you need to activate a gun before it can be used?"

"Well, it was property of the Vaelde-family. I'll tell you more about my family later. For now, let's say that they are involved in weapons and their production. We called the material and technology used for our guns Hextech. It is… Hmm, it's hard to explain what it is exactly. It has more options than normal steel and titanium, but is not always as strong. It is great for when you need to use electronics, and provides some kind of rechargeable battery at the same time. Uhm… It needs to be updated someday though, it was produced several years ago, and it needs to be brought up-to-date with the current weapon-developments. Which is, by the way Gino, something I had planned to ask you. I would like to visit some decent weapon developer or gunsmith in the future. Do you know any?"

Lelouch replied before Gino could. "You could talk to Ruben!"

"Ruben?" Caitlyn asked, the name not ringing a bell.

"Heh, I was about to suggest the same Lelouch. Ruben Ashford, head of the Ashford-family. They are in charge of most of the new defense-material that the empire uses. They were the ones who designed the first knightmare that was used in combat, piloted by Lelouch's mother, Marianne vi Britannia. By then known as Marianne Lamperouge. Ruben is a great guy, and I'm quite sure that he would be interested in your rifle, and its options. The Ashford-facility is also big enough to spend time and machinery on updating a gun as yours, even when it is an ordinary request. As I said, they are probably quite interested in your weapon themselves. If you want I can arrange a meeting?"

"It can wait for a bit," Caitlyn replied. "I don't really think I'll leave this luxury anytime too soon."

Lelouch pointed back to the rifle, making that the subject of their talks again. While Caitlyn went through the possibilities and attachments one by one, and Lelouch kept asking questions, none of them noticed the passing of the time.

* * *

 **Another chapter done, and on schedule as well!**

 **This was a bit of a filler chapter, as was the case with the last one. It takes some time to set the stage, but I hope it will be good.  
A New Reality is next on the list. (finally) **

**Also, partly thanks to this story, I managed to break my viewer-record that dated from december, which made me quite happy. I get happy from all the messages, fav's and follows that I find in my mailbox every so often, keep doing that!**

 **On a sidenote: I am leaving on holiday this sunday, and will stay away for around 10 days. I have Wi-fi, but no laptop...  
I will try to write another full chapter tomorrow, but I cannot promiss much. **

**With that said, I'm getting dinner.**

 **-Alsodef (31/7/2015)**


End file.
